Windows 7 may not be completely dead after all

Although Windows 7’s official life span ended earlier this week, reports have claimed that the software may continue to run for a little longer.

Microsoft appears to have added UEFI and Secure Boot to Windows 7, potentially extending the life of devices that are still using the platform without worrying about a cyberattack.

Secure Boot allows a computer to verify that the software and firmware drivers it uses at boot have been signed by the manufacturer. Its recent addition to Windows 7 may be another nod to the fact that the platform is still a favorite of many business users who rely on the operating system to run certain office software.

Secure Boot for Windows 7

While official support for Windows 7 ended in 2020, in recognition that many enterprise and education users still use the operating system that debuted in 2009, Microsoft has opened up its Extended Security Updates program in an effort to keep bugs out of the hit operating system. .

Fast forward three years, and Microsoft has now ended that program, as of January 10, 2023, leaving many users now wondering what they should do, and whether they should do it and upgrade to a newer version of the Windows operating system.

by numbers Statistics counterWindows 7 accounted for 11.2% of all Windows installations at the end of 2022, which makes it less popular than Windows 11 which accounts for 17% of all installations, although the numbers show that Windows 11 has only surpassed Windows 7 in terms of popularity in August 2022.

Topping the charts, according to Statcounter, is Windows 10, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the Windows market, while Windows 8 and 8.1 hold only 3.26% combined.

Joining Windows 7 at the end of its life is Windows 8.1, which never quite gained as much traction as its predecessor, leaving PC users who wanted regular security patches to choose between Windows 10 and Windows 11.

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Via: Tom’s Hardware